


i've been compromised

by castielfalls



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-08-28 04:34:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16716685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castielfalls/pseuds/castielfalls
Summary: tony stark runs stark industries by day and an underground spy network by night. they hide the best way possible - in plain sight. famous individuals forming a network. one day, doctor stephen strange disappears mysteriously and tony sends his network to find him.





	1. introduction

**ANTHONY "TONY" STARK**

Tony is the boss of Stark Industries. World famous genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. He's famous for his technology and innovation. 

**STEPHEN STRANGE**

Stephen is an internationally known neurosurgeon. Currently has a highly-anticipated ongoing study on neuroscience that is supposed to change the world. Tony wanted someone from the medical field in his network and conveniently, he's dating a doctor who's willing to join.

**PETER QUILL**

Peter is the owner of the Milano, a widely famous nightclub known for its amazing music mix and wild parties. He works there as the DJ and controls the inventory. Tony needed somebody who could find out anything about anyone from everybody, what better person to do that than someone who knows something about everyone?

**THOR ODINSON**

Thor is the most popular model at SHIELD. Known as a god among men. He has connections to multiple gyms as well due to his job, plus famous magazine companies. Tony wanted connections throughout popular news/magazines/tabloids and figured Thor was the way to go.

**MANTIS EMPATH**

Mantis is the owner and main teacher at the Empath Dojo, a renowned martial arts school. She is extremely skilled and her abilities are almost unparalleled. Tony discovered her because of her fighting abilities and had since added her to his network.

**CAROL DANVERS**

Carol serves in the military as an Air Force pilot captain. She's highly experienced in flying aircraft and combat. Tony has been long-time friends with her and involved her in the network, wanting both his best friend and military personnel in it.

**SHURI UDAKU**

Shuri is the princess and main scientist of the secret country Wakanda. Tony discovered her creations and enlisted her into his network. She is always working on improving her technology.

**JAMES "BUCKY" BARNES**

Bucky is a famous actor well-known for his role as the Winter Soldier, a popular movie series. He has many other famous associates like Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, to name a few. Tony wanted someone who had a place behind the curtains, and Bucky was willing to help.

* * *

_You have been introduced to my secret network._

_This is an interactive AU, found on @70squill on Twitter. As it's interactive, your choices matter in how the others end up and in the recovery of Stephen Strange's person. Let us proceed, if you are ready._

_Try your best._

_Find Stephen Strange._

_\- Tony_

 

 


	2. 1: leave behind a little proof

** NETWORK **

_ Tony Stark removed Stephen Strange _

**Thor Odinson:** Why did you remove Strange?

 **Tony Stark:** Stephen Strange has been abducted.

 **James Barnes:** What?

 **Shuri Udaku:** How? Who took him?

 **Tony Stark:** Undetermined.

 **Mantis Empath:** How long has he been gone?

 **Tony Stark:** Indefinite.

 **Peter Quill:** Do you have any answers? At all?

 **Tony Stark:** Only that he was close to completing his neuroscience study before his disappearance. This is your next task.

 **Carol Danvers:** Find Strange?

 **Tony Stark:** Find Strange. Meeting at Stark Industries tomorrow, 8PM.

 **Carol Danvers:** I have military work tomorrow.

 **Tony Stark:** Not anymore. Made a call. You’re with me.

 **Carol Danvers:** Alright.

 **Peter Quill:** We’ll be there.

* * *

Thor walks into the conference room to see three of the others already present — Peter Quill, Shuri Udaku and Mantis Empath. Mantis is in private conversation with Shuri. About what, Thor couldn’t care less. Peter is texting someone, feet up on the desk. The security detail outside the room eyes Peter nervously, but doesn’t dare get him to move his feet. James Barnes — also known as Bucky — walks in, taking the empty seat next to Shuri. The actor and scientist are close friends, have been before even joining Tony’s network. How they came to know each other, Thor doesn’t know. Stephen’s seat is notably empty.

“Loosen up, Odinson,” Peter says when Thor takes his seat next to him. 

Thor frowns, “Loosen up? Strange has disappeared. Anything could happen to any of us if he reveals our operations.” 

Peter grins, unzipping his jacket to pull out a flask, “Wanna take a sip? It’ll help with your stress.” 

Thor glares at him, scoffing, “What did I expect from a party animal?” 

Peter clicks his tongue, rebutting, “I am _not_ a party animal, my customers are. I’m just the DJ and the money hoarder, and maybe I like drinks on the side too.”

“You weren’t raised well,” Thor comments, a reference to Peter’s terrible childhood. 

Peter raises an eyebrow, saying before he takes a swig from his flask, “As if you care, rich boy.” 

Tony enters the conference room with Carol Danvers at his sight, beaming when he sees that everyone is present. He waves the security guards away before he snaps his fingers, the lights dimming. The room’s soundproofing system has been activated, and the cameras have been shut off. Nobody stands outside to eavesdrop. 

“Thank you all for being punctual tonight. Quill, feet off the table. Don’t make me repeat myself,” Tony says. Peter rolls his eyes, moving his legs to cross over the chair arms instead. Peter purposely uses the tip of his boots to tap the arms of Thor’s chair, much to his annoyance though he doesn’t retaliate. 

Shuri asks, “What do you intend to do about it?”

“I’ve been thinking about it since I found out yesterday. I would say the first thing we should do is search his apartment,” Tony says, writing an address on the dry-erase board behind him. “See if there are any clues as to where he has been taken.”

Bucky asks, “How do you know he’s been taken? Maybe he decided to take a private vacation.” 

Tony sighs exasperatingly, “I just know, okay? He would tell me if he took a vacation.” 

Peter smirks, taking another swig, “Mmm, because he’s your lover, huh?” 

Tony shoots a glare at Peter, “Whether that’s true or false, that’s still none of your business. Now, we’ll do our missions in pairs. With a member of the network gone, who knows what will happen to any of us? The two who’ll go to his apartment tomorrow are Quill and Barnes."

> _ Twitter chose for Tony to send Peter and Bucky. _

“Aw, man. Is this because I put my feet on your table? I’m sorry, dude,” Peter says insincerely, moving his feet to the tiled floor. 

Tony raises an eyebrow, staring at the smudges left by the soles of Peter’s worn out boots on his formerly spotless floor, and simply says, “No. I just think you’ll find something. Alright, let us know if you find anything. I suggest you go tonight.”

* * *

Since Tony has a spare key to Stephen’s apartment, the task of getting in held no difficulty. Peter takes off his jacket, dropping it onto one of the dining chairs while Bucky glances around.

“You think this guy has good drinks?” Peter asks, picking up an empty glass and carelessly dropping it. 

Bucky winces slightly at the sharp sound of shattering glass, but shrugs, “Don’t know. But please focus, we’re here to look for clues.” 

Peter waves dismissively, tipping a photo frame off the shelf, “I can multitask.” 

Bucky frowns in disdain, asking, “Can you not make a mess of his place? For all we know, he’s actually safe and he’ll come home to a messed up apartment.” 

Peter shakes his head, denying, “No, he won’t.” Bucky gestures to the broken glass and fallen photo frame, impatient, and Peter snatches one of the gold watches in Stephen’s collection, “He’ll come home to a messed up apartment _and_ some missing shit.”

“Of fucking _course_ I had to be sent with him. Stark hates me,” Bucky mumbles to himself, opening up a drawer to look for anything of use.

Peter finds his way into the kitchen, rummaging through the drawers and shelves until he finally finds tequila. He grins to himself, popping it open as he announces triumphantly, “Tequila! You want some, Barnes?” Bucky enters the kitchen, shaking his head as he looks in the fridge. Peter rolls his eyes and takes a swig before he spits it out, glaring at the mouth of the bottle, “What the hell… Paper?”

Bucky perks up, interest caught, and snatches the bottle from Peter. There’s a piece of paper taped to it. Peter picks it off and opens it, frowning, “Strange leaves a note in a bottle and it’s… empty. Why am I not surprised?” 

Bucky squints at the paper before he takes the note, “It’s not empty…” His left arm suddenly seems mechanical as fucking light comes out of one of his fingers. 

Peter’s eyes widen at the absurdity of it, “What the fuck… I didn’t know you had a high tech arm.” 

Bucky sighs in exasperation, “Nobody else was supposed to know. I lost my arm in an accident a few years before I started acting. Tony stepped in to help. Don’t you dare tell anyone.” 

Peter raises his arms in surrender, smiling, “Who could I possibly tell? I just think it’s cool. What does it say?”

“ _I left this note here in the unlikely happening of my abduction. I expect Peter Quill found this. If Tony is as smart as he likes to make himself out to be, he would have sent him_ ,” Bucky reads out and Peter frowns, “Is he… Is he saying I’m an alcoholic?” Bucky shrugs, “You do drink a lot. Anyway, _if you have found this note, I have been taken. Check if my studies are still around. If not, you know what to do_.”

“What _are_ we supposed to do?” Peter asks, taking the note back and keeping it in his jacket while Bucky’s arm returns to its original look. 

Bucky nods towards the note, “Let’s just see if the studies are still here. I guess Stark will have his own list of suspects depending on if the notes are around.”  Peter nods and drinks the tequila, walking into Stephen’s office while Bucky enters his bedroom.

“Nothing here,” Bucky calls out after checking twice, and Peter comes up empty as well. The notes are gone.

* * *

**James Barnes:** Found a note left by Strange in a bottle of tequila. It reads as follows: “I left this note here in the unlikely happening of my abduction. I expect Peter Quill found this. If Tony is as smart as he likes to make himself out to be, he would have sent him. If you have found this note, I have been taken. Check if my studies are still around. If not, you know what to do.”

 **Tony Stark:** Where are the notes?

 **Peter Quill:** Not home.

 **Tony Stark:** So the perpetrator got him for his studies. That would narrow down the list, but not by much.

 **Carol Danvers:** Anyone in particular?

 **Tony Stark:** Wilson Fisk, Arnim Zola, Sonny Burch, Erik Killmonger. Maybe Kevin Thompson.

 **Shuri Udaku:** What? Erik Killmonger is my cousin.

 **Tony Stark:** Still a suspect.

 **Carol Danvers:** Why would they want his studies?

 **Tony Stark:** Fisk wants control over the country, the world, of course he’ll want to know how people’s brains work. Arnim Zola is a scientist from HYDRA,a group of Nazis. He’ll want something to do with ‘world-changing neuroscience studies’. Sonny Burch is always interested in marketable work like Strange’s. I suspect Erik will use Strange’s work to plot a way to conquer Wakanda.

 **Thor Odinson:** What about Thompson?

 **Tony Stark:** He is a close associate of Fisk’s and he has peculiar abilities. I won’t say anything right now, he isn’t a big concern at the moment. I will update you if he becomes a bigger suspect.

 **Mantis Empath:** So what now?

 **Tony Stark:** I will try to dig up anything about Fisk through my contacts. Udaku, you investigate Killmonger. Danvers, try Zola. Quill, I assume Burch is in your range. We won’t do anything about Kevin Thompson at the moment.

 **Peter Quill:** Got it.

 **Shuri Udaku:** I will try my best.

 **Carol Danvers:** Same.

 **Tony Stark:** Barnes, Odinson, Empath, if any of you find anything as well, just let us know.

 **Thor Odinson:** You got it.


	3. 2: let the devil out

** UPCOMING EVENTS — TONY STARK’S CALENDAR **

  * Wilson Fisk’s dinner party celebrating Vanessa Fisk’s birthday. Many notable persons will be present, potentially other suspects?
  * Wakanda conference, invited by Shuri Udaku. Erik Killmonger will be present.
  * SHIELD press conference with Thor Odinson. Numerous big name companies will be present. 



> _ Twitter chose for Tony to attend Fisk's dinner party. _

* * *

“So why am I here again?”

“Because I think you could find your way around a place like this,” Tony answers. The four of them enter the building. Mantis has an arm around Tony’s while Peter and Thor follow close behind. Peter’s since changed into a maroon suit Tony picked out for him. Thor has to admit it’s a nice change from the dirty peculiar clothing he’s used to seeing the nightclub owner wear. Mantis is dressed in a beautiful light green dress while Tony dons a navy blue suit. Thor himself is wearing a simple black suit.

“Welcome, Mr Stark. Are these your guests?” the usher asks. 

Tony replies, “Yup. Ms Empath, Mr Quill and Mr Odinson. I’m sure you’re familiar with them.” 

The usher nods in recognition, “Dojo owner, DJ and SHIELD model. Please, enjoy yourselves tonight.” Mantis thanks him and the four make their way to the big hall. There are many celebrities and corporate figures present, some of which they recognise.

“Okay, so here’s what we’re gonna do. Empath, you distract the guards near the elevator. Quill, Odinson, you two break into Fisk’s office and see if you find anything.” 

Thor protests, “You’re sticking me with him?” 

Peter’s eyebrows fly up in faux offence, “Dude, is it _that_ bad being with me? Rude.” 

Tony groans in irritation and hisses, “You go in pairs. I need to stay down here to talk to Fisk and Empath needs to help you guys get past into his office. You’re going together. No negotiations.”

Thor sighs and Peter grins cheekily, following Mantis from a distance as she talks to one of the guards, keeping his attention long enough for Thor and Peter to slip past into the elevator.

“You should wear suits more often. You actually look like an adult for once,” Thor quips once the elevator doors close in front of them. 

Peter smirks, “You would like that, huh?” 

Thor frowns, saying, “Keep your fantasies to yourself, Quill. I’m not interested.” 

Peter laughs lightly as the doors open, “Okay, pretty boy.”

Peter navigates his way through the hallways, looking out for security and finding Fisk’s office. He keeps a lookout while Thor sneaks into the office and he follows behind, shutting the door gently behind them. 

“Find anything,” Peter notes, opening drawers. 

Thor checks the other room, coming out with a laptop, “Got his computer. It’s locked, though.” Peter takes the laptop from Thor and opens the lid, typing into it. Thor watches, mystified, as Peter’s fingers glide across the keyboard swiftly, hacking into its security system and bypassing it. 

Peter grins triumphantly and places the laptop on the table, walking to the door, “I’ll keep a lookout, You look for anything interesting.” Thor nods and begins looking through the laptop’s contents while Peter peeks out of the door.

Thor goes through Fisk’s browser history (wedding rings, something Thor can’t care less about), an article open about a lawyer named Matthew Murdock (he’d won a case about a man named Frank Castle), a photo of himself and Vanessa as the desktop wallpaper and a tab open to his bank account. Thor knows if Peter were the one hunting through the laptop, he would sidetrack and send all of Fisk’s savings to himself, because the amount is jaw-dropping. Peter wouldn’t give that up for anything. 

“Dude, hurry up,” Peter whispers.

Thor nods and finally, he finds Fisk’s email account. There’s an open draft, but the letters are all jumbled. He takes a photo of it anyway.

“ _Shit_.”

“What?” Thor asks, shoving his phone into his pocket. 

Peter runs back across the room, taking the laptop and locking it, placing it back in the other room. Peter whispers as he returns the laptop, “Take off your shirt.”

“I’m sorry, _what_?” Thor splutters. 

Peter’s pulling off his tie and loosening his belt as he walks back, a stressed look on his face, “Look, you wanna get out or not?”

* * *

The guard walks into the office, flashlight on, and almost chokes on his own surprise when he sees SHIELD model Thor Odinson making out (way too passionately, he may add) with Milano’s DJ Peter Quill in his boss’ office. Peter’s belt is loose, barely hanging on the belt loops, and his shirt is disheveled, hair messy. He has a leg hooked around Thor’s waist, pulling the model closer as Thor’s hands find a place on Peter’s sides. Thor’s tie is wrapped around one of Peter’s wrists as Peter works on getting Thor’s pants off.

He clears his throat loudly and the two men pull away in shock. Thor laughs nervously and starts re-buttoning his shirt while Peter apologizes, “I am so sorry. This is embarrassing.” 

Thor tries to explain, taking his tie back from Peter, “We just used the first room we found that was empty. We’re sorry.”

“I know you two. You’re here with Mr Stark,” the guard manages to say after getting over his surprise. 

Peter makes a face of realization as he says, “Oh shit, yeah. He’s gonna be so mad at us for bailing on him. We gotta go back.” 

The guard’s face is red, embarrassed from walking in on the two of them, that he can’t bear to do anything except say, “Just go downstairs.”

“Will do. Again, so sorry,” Thor apologizes as Peter pulls him out of the office.

The two of them clean up their look in the elevator and Thor can’t help but notice how incredibly good Peter is at kissing, though it shouldn’t be such a surprise. The man owns a nightclub, after all.

“So… you have the photo? Is it legible?” Peter asks when he finished buttoning up his shirt. Thor nods silently and the two stare at one another before Peter pulls Thor to him again, kissing him.

* * *

“What the hell happened to the two of you?” Tony asks when the two men return. 

Mantis stares at them, asking, “Did you have to fight the guards? Do we need to run?” 

Peter shook his head, “No, we’re good. We almost got caught, so we had to play something up. Thor got a photo of an email, I think.”

“Thor, huh?” Tony says, eyeing them suspiciously. 

Peter catches himself and corrects, “Did I say Thor? I meant Odinson. Kinda forgot we hate each other.” 

Tony rolls his eyes, “Sure. Well, I talked to Fisk for a bit. He said he offers his condolences about Strange. Which means two things — he has Strange and he’s… dead. Or you know, he knows absolutely nothing about Strange’s whereabouts.” 

Mantis offers, “Maybe he knows but he’s acting like he doesn’t to throw you off.” 

Tony nods, “True.”

The four of them decide to stay for the rest of the dinner party just in case something else happens. Peter glances around, seeing Sonny Burch talking to a woman, a case in his hand. At the same time, Thor notices Fisk talking to a suspicious looking man.

“Hey, Burch is over there. He’s looking a little shifty,” Peter whispers to Thor. Tony and Mantis have already left the two to talk to other people, see what they can find out. 

Thor nods towards Fisk and the unknown man, “Looks like Fisk has new company, though.” 

> _ Twitter chose for them to investigate Fisk's new man. _

“Hey. Where are you going?” Mantis asks, abruptly leaving a conversation with a corporate figure to confront Thor and Peter. 

Thor answers quietly, “Fisk has a new guy we don’t know about, he might be important to this.” 

Mantis glances back to see who they’re talking about before she says, “What were you going to do when you got there? Talk to them? About what, exactly?” 

Peter and Thor pause momentarily and Mantis adds, “Plus, the two of you were caught in his office earlier, the guard who caught you might have told Fisk. Tony and I will go.”

Thor and Peter relent and Mantis walks over to Tony, beckoning him. Tony stops his conversation with the CEO of SHIELD (who thankfully hasn’t noticed Thor’s presence) to walk with Mantis.

“What is it?” Tony asks.

Mantis fills him in, “Quill and Odinson suspect Fisk’s new man might be important.” He nods slowly, both of them going up to Fisk.

“Fisk, hello again,” Tony greets warmly. Fisk grins down at Tony and Mantis while the man (closer to him now, Tony notices a FBI badge hooked to his pants pocket).

Fisk welcomes, “Stark, and his lovely companion…?” 

Mantis gives him a polite smile, “Mantis Empath, I run the Empath Dojo.” 

The FBI agent’s interest is piqued and Fisk makes a face of recognition, “I believe I know that dojo. You, Miss Empath, are a very skilled woman.” She gives him a look of gratitude as Fisk introduces, “I’m sure you are already aware, but my name is Wilson Fisk. This is my friend, Poindexter.” 

“Call me Dex,” he says. “Everyone does.”

Tony is about to say something when Dex says, “I heard about Strange. Kind of a pity.” 

Tony raises an eyebrow as he repeats, “Kind of?” 

Dex nods, muttering, “Yeah. I mean, he’s a great doctor, but with all the people he doesn’t bother helping… Kinda deserved it, eh?”

Mantis has to put a hand on Tony’s arm to remind him he’s in public.

(Tony is beating the shit out of Dex in his mind.)

“He would find that funny,” Tony says instead, giving him a tight, forced smile. 

The tension between them has formed so thickly that Fisk can see it clear as day, and he says, “Poindexter, don’t be so rude. The man has lost his friend. He deserves to grieve. We need not talk the details. Were you familiar with Stephen Strange, Stark?”

Tony thinks about what answer would be best in driving the conversation forward.

“We were friends, but weren’t close. You?”  


Mantis gives him a brief look and Fisk answers, “We’ve spoken a few times, before he went public with his neuroscience study. A shame that he never completed it before his demise. I was looking forward to reading it.” 

Tony agrees with him and then asks, “So, how’s your wife?” 

Fisk chuckles — it creeps Mantis out hearing the man laugh — and he answers, “Vanessa is not my wife yet, though I wish her to be. She is doing very well. Thank you for asking.” 

Mantis questions, glancing around, “This dinner party is to celebrate her birthday, right? Where _is_ the special lady?” 

Dex shoots a sharp glance at Fisk who pauses, before he answers, “She had a last minute errand to run, but she will return soon. You plan on staying, yes?” 

Tony shrugs, “Don’t know, I’ll have to see if my schedule remains clear, but I hope I get to.” 

Fisk nods, smiling, “Excellent. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

As Tony and Mantis turn away, they faintly hear Fisk saying to Dex, “Go. Now.”

* * *

Thor and Peter decided to step outside for a breather, maybe even find something important in relation to Stephen. 

“So that kiss. Sorry, _kisses_ ,” Peter mentions, tone light and suggestive. 

Thor looks around quickly to check if anyone is around before he says, “I dislike you, but I have to admit you aren’t bad at _that_.” Peter opens his mouth to make a joke about how he’s not so bad at something else before they hear a groan from the alley. They look at each other before Peter makes a move first, walking quietly towards the alley.

“Hey, anyone there? You okay?” Peter asks. Thor follows behind him, wary of whoever’s in the alley. 

The person quietens down in an attempt to hide from them and Thor tries, “It’s okay, we won’t hurt you. We just want to help.” They take the silence as a green light to check who’s there and they move forward, looking down the alley to find a man leaning against the wall, donning black.

“Who the hell are you?” Peter asks, eyeing the black mask that covers the top half of the man’s face. 

He answers, “Nobody you need to know. I’m just here for Fisk, but his guy got me first.” He removes his hand to reveal a gunshot wound in his side and Thor and Peter’s eyes widen.

“We have to get you to a hospital,” Thor says tensely.

The man shakes his head, “No hospital. They’ll know who I am.” 

Peter watches him suspiciously before asking, “Why are you after Fisk?” 

The man answers, “He’s a piece of shit.” 

Thor asks, “Okay, that, we know. Uh, do you know anything about Stephen Strange?”

The vigilante responds, “Neurosurgeon, was working on this whole neuroscience study that’s supposedly going to change the world. Dropped off the face of the earth, I don’t know more than that. Why?” 

Peter changes the question, “So what is it do you do?” 

The man grimaces from the pain of his wound as he replies, “Why do you need to know?”

“We might be after the same guy?” Thor says, a little unsure if they should be revealing so much to this stranger. 

The man presses his lips together in thought, “I just go after the bad guys. The biggest bad in this city is Fisk, and I want to take him down. You got your own personal problems with him?” 

Peter shrugs, “Still not sure. Hey, you sure we can’t get you to a hospital, man? You’re bleeding a lot.” 

“I’m fine,” he insists, though he winces again as he grabs his side. 

Thor moves forward to help before he hears Tony call, “Odinson! Quill! We gotta go!”

> _ Twitter chose for Peter and Thor to help the man. _

“Sorry, man. Normally, I’d leave you here to bleed out, but you got _shot_. I can’t leave you here on good conscience. Tell Stark we’ve got company,” Peter says to Thor, moving forward to help the man up. The man accepts Peter, mainly because he’s lost a bit too much blood to have the energy to argue and he believes they’re the good guys. Thor runs back to tell Tony, and the man can hear that Stark isn’t happy about the extra trip to the hospital they have to make.

“Stark, we need to get someone to the hospital. He’s been shot, he’s lost a lot of blood.”

“What the _hell_ , Odinson? I said we have to go and you make a friend? Where the hell’s Quill?” _Tony Stark._

“Helping him.”

“We are supposed to be on the DL. How do you expect me to bring him to the god damn hospital? My office isn’t an option. Is that him, with that mask?”

“Yeah.”

“He can come to my dojo. My girlfriend can fix him up.” _A female voice he doesn’t recognise._

“Fine. This is on both of you, Odinson and Quill.”

The man is placed in the backseat of the car, next to Peter and Thor. Tony takes the driver’s seat while Mantis is in the passenger seat. Tony starts driving and he says curtly, “If I’m taking you to her dojo, I want to know your name.”

“People call me the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen,” he answers. 

Tony shakes his head, “Kind of thought that with the mask, but that’s not the answer I want. Tell me _who_ you are, not what, or you can bleed to death on the sidewalk. We are on the clock here, Daredevil.”

“Stark! Don’t be rude.”

“What? It’s _his_ choice. Name or we dump you where nobody finds you.”

He doesn’t have any other option. As much as he cares about his secret identity, he really needs to get medical attention and he’s lucky enough none of them have been lying so far. He can feel Thor and Peter’s stares on him, the woman’s heartbeat is accelerating and Tony’s probably glaring at him through the rearview mirror. He sighs and pulls off the mask. He can _feel_ the surprise on Thor, Peter and the woman’s faces. It’s not everyday you realize a vigilante is blind.

“Matthew Murdock. Please don’t tell anybody, I only told you because I desperately need to get fixed up,” he says, defeated.

Tony nods, “Your secret’s safe with us. Matthew Murdock, the blind lawyer, huh? Never would have expected that. Alright, Murdock. I’ll take you to the dojo.” 

Matt sighs in relief and Peter asks, “Say, why did we have to go, Stark?” 

Tony answers, “There was something with Vanessa I wanted to check out, but this Murdock guy could be valuable in this. Vanessa can wait. You’ve been following Fisk for a while now, right?” Matt nods and Tony continues, “Then you could help us. See, we’ve been following Fisk because we suspect he has something to do with the disappearance of Stephen Strange. I won’t tell you anything else. Unless, of course, you decide to join my network.”

“Network?” Now Matt’s interested. He’d never known Tony Stark had a _network_ of any kind.

“Are you in or not?”

A moment passes. And then another.

“Fine,” Matt relents. “I’ll join.”

“Peter Quill, Thor Odinson, Mantis Empath, James Barnes, Shuri Udaku, Carol Danvers, Stephen Strange and me,” Tony lists. Matt nods — they’re a group full of completely different people so nobody would expect them all to be connected (plus, Matt’s pretty sure Thor and Peter have either hooked up or want to because he can hear their heartbeats around each other and he’s getting pretty uncomfortable.) He’s also almost 100% certain Tony has feelings for or is in a relationship with Stephen, because he seems the most anxious about the whole thing than the others. 

The car pulls to a stop and Mantis turns around to face Matt, saying, “Nebula might come off as rude or blunt, especially since she doesn’t know you, but I hope you don’t mind.” Matt nods, indicating that he’s alright with it, and Thor helps Matt into the dojo, the other two men following behind as Mantis goes ahead. 

> _ Twitter has successfully employed Matthew Murdock. _


End file.
